Retail Customer Assistant at Nineteen38 Coffee Morton House in Luton - 15 hours

Royal Voluntary Service has an opportunity available for a Retail Customer Assistant to join our team at Nineteen38 Coffee at Morton House, 21 Kimpton Road, Luton LU2 0LA. You will join us on a part‑time, permanent basis and in return you will receive a competitive salary of £12.71 per hour (FTE £23,136 per annum).

About the Retail Customer Assistant role: Nineteen38 Coffee™ powered by Royal Voluntary Service is part of the community and offers an outstanding range of beverages and healthy food choices. Working alongside a friendly team of employees and volunteers, you will participate in the day‑to‑day running of our busy cafe at Morton House.

In This Role, You Will Be Responsible For:

• Providing friendly, helpful and efficient service at all times
• Welcoming customers, informing them about specials or new products, answering questions and accepting orders and payments
• Operating the till and cashing up
• Maintaining a high level of cleanliness by complying with Health and Safety and food hygiene standards, ensuring all areas of the site remain tidy
• Ensuring that all stock and displays are replenished regularly and ordering supplies if required

Hours: 15 hours per week (5 shifts of 3 hours), including all bank holidays. Schedule: Monday to Friday with weekends on a rota based support for the sister site at Wigmore Valley Park. Typical shifts are between 07:00‑16:00 with a sample shift time of 11:30‑14:30.

What You'll Bring As Our Retail Customer Assistant:

• Your ability to communicate with a variety of people in a friendly and cheerful way will make a real difference to someone's day. Adapt your approach to each person to ensure their needs are met.

Job Requirements:

• Previous experience in a barista/cafe environment would be an advantage
• Can remain calm & professional in a fast‑paced environment
• The ability to deliver excellent customer service
• Knowledge of EPOS systems
• Knowledge of Food Safety & Health & Safety procedures
• Excellent communication skills
• Enjoy working within a passionate team as well as working on your own on occasions
• Skilled at organising, delegating & prioritising
• Flexible to the needs of the business & can attend out‑of‑hours training if required
• Knowledge and experience of general administrative processes
• Experience with email and internet is required

Job Responsibilities:

• To ensure the effective operation of the retail outlet(s) whilst maintaining outstanding store standards, you will provide friendly, helpful, and excellent customer service to all customers, maximizing a great shopping experience.
• Preparing hot and cold drinks
• Serving & preparing freshly made food such as baguettes, cakes, sandwiches, and pastries
• Welcoming customers, informing them about specials or new products, answering questions and accepting orders and payments
• Operating the till and undertaking cash reconciliation as required
• Receiving incoming deliveries, distributing, maintaining, and date‑rotating stock, and assisting with accurate completion of regular stock checks
• Engaging with volunteers to direct & lead by example to ensure a great volunteer experience
• Maintaining high levels of cleanliness, complying with Health and Safety and food hygiene standards, and ensuring all areas of the site remain tidy
• Handling pushing of loaded trolleys of stock for distances as required

This Is How You'll Be Doing It:

• Strives to deliver what is expected or required of them and consistently meets objectives and deadlines.
• Is dependable and does not abandon tasks without seeing them through to the end.
• Work is often conducted in a thorough and methodical manner.
• Focuses on paying attention, being precise, checking, and completing things carefully.
• Adheres to policy and standards.
• Enjoys participating in group activities and works with others, collaborating and supporting to achieve the overall good.
• Identifies and focuses on the individual needs and concerns of the customer or client, engaging and responding accordingly with a professional and high‑quality service.
• Commits to keeping people safe from harm.
• Motivated to accept and comply with standards and instructions, delivers accurately, builds and maintains healthy relationships, respects and works well with others, and can work productively in cooperation with others.
• Values difference, sets a positive example of inclusive behavior in all interactions, promotes practices that celebrate equality and diversity in the workplace and community, and encourages others to engage in charity‑wide inclusion activities.

Job Benefits:

• Salary of £12.71 per hour (FTE £23,136 per annum)
• 26 days’ holiday (pro‑rata) plus paid statutory bank holidays (pro‑rata)
• Up to 2 days paid volunteer leave a year through our employer‑supported volunteer scheme
• Ten weeks’ company sick pay following successful completion of probation
• A great pension scheme
• 2 × Salary Death in Service Benefit, subject to qualification
• Enhanced Family Leave schemes
• An employee benefits package that gives access to an exclusive rewards website for discounts and cashback online
• A 24‑hour doctor line, financial support with dental & optical and other therapies
• A free and confidential employee assistance programme with up to six face‑to‑face counselling sessions included
• Extensive online and on‑the‑job training to ensure you will succeed in your role
• Opportunities to develop new skills and progress your career
• The chance to make a positive, lasting impact that changes lives, communities, and society

The closing date for this role is 20 May 2026. However, we reserve the right to close this vacancy early should sufficient applications be received. At Nineteen38 Coffee™ powered by Royal Voluntary Service we celebrate difference and encourage everyone to join us and be themselves at work. To find out more about our commitment to EDI, visit our website.